


Mellohi

by QueenKara671



Series: Of Children and Chess Pieces [6]
Category: Cogchamp SMP - Fandom, Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: :), Accidental Self-Harm, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Blaze Hybrid Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), But also, Dreamon DreamXD, Dreamons, Duck Hybrid Alexis | Quackity, Gaslighting, Gen, He/They Pronouns for Sam | Awesamdude, Hearing Voices, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, I don't have an outline so I just added what I think will prob be included, I've spent like twenty minutes tagging this, Implied Neglect, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Imprisonment Arc (Dream SMP), Kidnapping, Manipulation, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Mind Manipulation, Multiple Pronouns for Eret (Video Blogging RPF), Niki | Nihachu and Ranboo and Eret are Siblings, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parent Cara | CaptainPuffy, Parent Sam | Awesamdude, Past Abuse, Phil Watson Adopts Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Protective Toby Smith | Tubbo, Ranboo Angst (Video Blogging RPF), References to Hypixel, References to Minecraft Mechanics, References to The Egg, References to The Green Festival, References to The Red Festival, References to the Potato War, References to the time Tubbo almost died for real, Sad Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Scared Toby Smith | Tubbo, Scared TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Suicidal Thoughts, Tags May Change, Toby Smith | Tubbo and Wilbur Soot and Technoblade and TommyInnit are Siblings, TommyInnit Angst (Video Blogging RPF), Winged Alexis | Quackity, Worried Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Y'know typical DSMP stuff, but techno refuses to admit it, but yknow, dream doesnt know how to build or decorate a house, karl is just nonexistent now, kinda a given ig with the duck hybrid tag, minigames are just like, really shoulda been the first thing i added, rip karl ig, the minecraft equivalent of sports, unlike every other fanfiction author ive decided its not an underground fighting ring or somethin, wait how did i forget this tag, whoops my hand slipped and i wrote sad clingy duo, will add tags as I keep going, woops forgot to tag this as cogchamp haha
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 04:07:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29378961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenKara671/pseuds/QueenKara671
Summary: Techno had known something was wrong as soon as he and Phil had returned from their expedition.---Something happens to Ranboo. The members of the server are understandably upset.(Central fic of the series "Of Children and Chess Pieces")
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity/Karl Jacobs/Sapnap (Mentioned), Alexis | Quackity/Sapnap, Clay | Dream & DreamXD, Cuptoast | Crumb & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Floris | Fundy/5up (implied), Ranboo & Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF) & Everyone, Sam | Awesamdude & Toby Smith | Tubbo & Tommyinnit, Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit
Series: Of Children and Chess Pieces [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2154291
Comments: 147
Kudos: 538





	1. This town without love, too much faith in above

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter up! A bit shorter than I was hoping for, but hopefully future chapters will be longer. I'm trying to keep a schedule for this one, and there will definitely be more fics in the series to try and build the characters.
> 
> Hope you enjoy! It's mostly going to be me making people on the server suffer. :)
> 
> Chapter title from "Misery Fell" by Tally Hall.

Techno had known something was wrong as soon as he and Phil had returned from their expedition.

They had been looking for another Woodland Mansion. You could never have too many Totems of Undying, especially since Phil only had one life. This may have been true for several of the other people on the server as well, but his--he didn't want to say enemies, but that was the most accurate term--had a Totem God with them.

Tommy, Tubbo, and Quackity would be safe for a long time.

Phil might not be so lucky.

They had asked if Ranboo wanted to come, but he declined, preferring to stay in with his pets. The kid was a bit introverted, at times. Techno could relate. 

In one timeline or another, he mused, the kid might have ended up like him.

_(He hoped it wasn't this one)_

That had been the end of that. They had left for a few hours, returning to an empty house. Not unusual, as the enderman hybrid had a habit of disappearing from time to time. They both knew this.

No, what worried him was chat's shouting.

_GONE, GONE! Ranboo taken! Save him save your son. TECHNOOO WHERE'S OUR BOY_ **_Someone took him. Kill them._ ** _I bet it was the green bitch! Ranboo was taken? 🦀🦀 Ranboo is gone 🦀🦀 DON'T CHEER YOU ASSHOLE HE'S MISSING_

"He's not my son in any way, shape, or form, chat," Techno muttered.

Still, he tensed up. Chat had a habit of being dramatic, to say the least, but the fact that they had put so much effort into trying to tell him about a fairly ordinary occurrence meant either they were trying to prank him, in which case it was better to go along with it until they tired themselves out…

...or it meant something really _was_ wrong.

"Techno? You alright, mate?" Phil asked, noticing his companion's stance. Techno shook his head.

"Chat thinks something's up with Ranboo."

"He disappears pretty frequently, Tech. He's probably out mining or something."

"...Still, would rather check than not." Phil raised an eyebrow, and Techno quickly added, "Not like I'm actually worried about the kid or anything, I just want Chat to shut up, y'know?"

Phil laughed a bit at Techno's tsundere tendencies. "Alright, mate, but I'm sure he's fine."

They entered through the unlocked door. Inside Ranboo's house looked relatively normal. 

Enderchest was sitting near the doorway, and nuzzled up to Technoblade. He leaned down to pet them, before noticing something on the floor nearby. 

He looked closer. It was a few drops of red and green liquid. His eyes widened.

 **_Blood_ ** _._

Chat had been right. 

Something had happened to Ranboo.

“...Techno?” Phil asked nervously.

“His blood is on the floor here, Phil.” Techno stated blankly. It’s not like he was attached to the kid or anything, but a teenager just straight up disappearing without a trace was definitely concerning. Especially with Ranboo’s memory issues… whoever took him could easily take advantage of those.

_Lmao keep telling yourself you dont care. TECHNOSOFT. E! tsundereblade_

“Chat, will you shut up when there is a teenager who was _supposed_ to be under _my protection_ and who is now _missing_?” He growled.

“Techno’s right,” said Phil, though he couldn’t hear who his friend was speaking to. “We need to figure out who took Ranboo and why. We should ask if anyone’s seen him."

"We can't trust anyone out there, Phil. No one can know he's gone, they'll try and stop us."

"Aren't Tommy and Tubbo friends with hi-"

"They hate us more than they care about Ranboo." Techno interrupted, trying to keep his voice the same monotone as usual.

Phil frowned. "I don't know if that's true, mate."

"Even if they did help, they might try and turn him against us. The only reason they haven't is because they don't know he's been staying with us."

"You're starting to sound paranoid, Techno."

Techno tensed, painful memories returning.

 _(Memories of Wilbur,_ ~~_his brother_ ~~ _his friend's son, shouting at Tommy about traitors and liars, ~~how ironic~~. Why hadn't he done anything, why hadn't he stopped him from hurting _ ~~_Techno's little brother, who he still cared about despite the betrayals_ ~~ _Tommy, but it wasn't like he cared about the child who had betrayed him anymore and he just wanted to stop thinking about this, dammit chat, shut up.)_

"I'm not paranoid." He responded after a moment. "Just… he's important to you, so he's important to me. That's why I came to this server in the first place, because Wilbur, Tommy, and Tubbo were important to you."

"You care about them too, even if you keep trying to deny it, Tech."

_Philza Minecraft speaks the truth. Stop denying you care about them!!!!! i wish wilbur hadn't died, he was funny. Remember when Tubbo tried to kill you though? Tubbo and Tommy used to be so nice when they were younger!_ **_Ranboo reminds you of how they used to be, doesn't he._ **

He didn't respond to Phil or Chat. Only stood up, trying to block out the painful reminders of what could have been if he had just paid a little more attention.

"...Let's just focus on trying to find him."


	2. I hate to see you leaving, a fate worse than dying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tubbo groaned. "So we have no leads and a complete megalomaniac who basically wants nothing more than to completely take over the server and can easily do so if he wants to is out of the only prison that could possibly hold him."
> 
> \---
> 
> Some of the members of the server who are most terrified of Dream breaking out discover his absence from the prison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha it's after midnight this totally counts as posting on Tuesday  
> For those who are interested, I'm going to try and update this fic every Tuesday and Friday. Other fics in the series, typically one-shots, will probably either be posted on Sundays or Wednesdays, but not every Sunday or Wednesday, just if I have something to post.  
> Hope you enjoy the chapter!  
> Also lmao added so many tags I forgot when I posted the first chapter so have fun looking at those, some are kinda spoilers for future chapters but ehhh it'll be relevant  
> Chapter title from Jubilee Line by Wilbur Soot

Sam was panicking.

To be fair, so were Tubbo and Tommy. How could they not be? Dream had  _ completely _ disappeared from the prison. The security cameras cut out with a green flash and then when they came back on he was just… not there. 

So they were, justifiably, freaking out.

“I don’t--I don’t know where he could have gone! There’s no way he could just disappear like that, none of the blocks are gone, all the cameras on the outside are working fine so I know there’s no way anyone got in…”

Tommy mumbled something. Tubbo squeezed his arm, and said, “You gotta speak up, Tommy, we can’t hear you.”

“...Couldn’t he have used his admin powers to get out?”

Sam and Tubbo glanced at him for a second. Tubbo turned to Sam, questioningly.

“No. He transferred all his admin powers to his alt ages ago, and if any of the other admins had gotten him out, I would have known.”

Tommy raised an eyebrow. “His alt?”

“...You do know how alts work, right?” Sam responded. Tommy looked away, trying to hide his embarrassment. “They’re basically like a second body. People typically use them for putting themselves in spectator mode and recording things for TV, or use them to AFK places.”

“Like Techno did during the Potato War!” Tubbo offered.

“Uh, sure? I don’t know too much about what he did during that. Anyways, you need a com--you know what a com is, right?”

Tommy frowned. “Yes, I know what a fucking  _ communications device _ is, Sam, I’m  _ wearing one _ .”

“Okay, just checking. You need a com to actually switch to the alt. Dream basically uses his to make sure people aren’t breaking the rules or anything, I think.” Sam paused. “Now that I think of it, I don’t actually remember when Dream got it. He’s just had it for ages, apparently, but I never saw it until we came to this server.”

“...Alright, that last bit kinda has nothing to do with anything, but interesting, I guess.” Tubbo sighed. “Once we find him, can’t you just put him back in the prison using your admin powers?”

“If he has his com, no. He’ll just have his alt teleport him out, and probably remove admin from the rest of us. Legally, his alt has ultimate control over the server, so he can remove admin from us but we can’t from him.”

"If you knew that he could get out using his com, why did you let him keep it!?" Tommy shouted.

Sam shook his head. "That's the thing, I didn't. I have his com on me right now, he couldn't have used his alt to get out. He'd have to have someone on the outside who could teleport or something, and figure out how to block the cameras on the inside of the cell."

"...Oh. Well. Sorry for shouting, then."

"It's alright."

Tubbo groaned. "So we have no leads and a complete megalomaniac who basically wants nothing more than to completely take over the server and can  _ easily _ do so if he wants to is out of the only prison that could possibly hold him."

"Not to mention, he still wants Tubbo dead." Tommy added. Sam could hear his voice shake a little, despite his attempts at hiding it. They hesitated.

"Yes. That, uh, that about sums it up." Sam wasn't sure what to do here. He didn't want to freak the poor kids out, but they knew that there wasn't much he could do to comfort the boys either.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Tommy asked.

"Just…" He barely resisted the urge to pull the boys into a hug, not wanting to frighten them with the unexpected contact. "Stay together, and stay with people you can trust, and once we find him we'll get everyone on the server together and we'll take him down, alright?"

"People we can trust?"

"People who don't want one or both of you dead." Sam offered. "You two know my house is always open, I'm sure Puffy would be around if you needed her. If you can't find anyone just go to the hotel and Sam Nook will keep you safe. Okay?"

Tubbo gave a pained smile. "Thanks, Sam. We'll, uh, we'll go find Puffy, then, and you'll keep working on the whole… finding Dream thing?"

They nodded. "Both of you stay safe."

"We'll try but, y'know, our attempted murderer is on the loose, so…" Tommy laughed nervously.

Tubbo frowned. "He was only going to kill me."

"...it would have killed me too." Tommy mumbled. The other two stayed silent. He spoke again. "Let's just go find Puffy, Tubbo. Thanks for everything, Sam."

It sounded entirely too much like a goodbye for Sam to be comfortable, but he forced a smile anyways. "Of course."

The boys walked away, likely heading towards Snowchester to find Puffy. Sam sighed, thinking over everything he knew.

"Now where to start…" They muttered. Sam thought back on the conversation.

" _ A complete megalomaniac who basically wants nothing more than to completely take over the server and can easily do so if he wants to _ ," Tubbo had said.

_ “Could easily do so if he wants to.” _

Sam frowned. That… wasn't an inaccurate description. Dream had access to his alt the entire time, at least before he was sent to Pandora’s Vault. He could have used his admin powers to take over the entire server, banning anyone he considered a threat or hell, just killing them. He could have blocked access to the multiplayer hub and prevented people from leaving if he wanted them to stay, so it wasn't like doing any of those things really had a risk of the server members leaving.

Why hadn't he? Was it more fun for him this way? Was there a method to the madness?

Sam sighed. Whoever Dream had become, that wasn't their friend anymore. He was power-hungry, possessive.

Sam would protect his family from him no matter what.

…Maybe they needed to call in some help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I find it very funny when one character foreshadows something and then all the other characters are like "okay, i guess? uh, moving on,"


	3. But really I'm not actually your friend, but I am

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He coughed. "Why am I in a box?" 
> 
> \---
> 
> We finally get to see what Ranboo's been up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting into angst territory now!
> 
> CW: Gaslighting, Manipulation, Implied Abuse/Neglect (not actually, it's just Dream lying to him, but still), Self Harm (accidental), Light(?) Gore.
> 
> Stay safe out there, folks.  
> Chapter title from Birdhouse In Your Soul by They Might Be Giants.

Ranboo clawed at his arms, at the walls, at anything, trying to get out. He didn’t know where he was, he couldn’t remember--where was his memory book?--but he wasn’t safe, wasn’t home. Did he even have a home?

He felt like he’d been in the box for years, but that couldn't be right. Could it? He didn't know. He tried to remember names, faces, but it felt like something was fighting it. Who was he? Where was he?

~~_ ( _ _ Who were Tommy Tubbo Phil Techno Eret Niki help him help him help him _ _ ) _ ~~

The only thing in the room that broke the monotony of the obsidian was the single iron door. He wasn't a fan of it. His only exit, but one he could never open.

~~ Well, he could break it ~~ No, it wasn't a way out. He couldn't. He simply couldn't.  ~~ Or the obsidian ~~ He was trapped here. 

He sat down, exhausted. His arms were still bleeding, the blood dripping down onto the floor. It didn't burn the same way water did, the same way the tears that had long since dried ran down his face and bubbled like acid against his skin, making him scream in pain, but it wasn't pleasant. The wounds stung. He couldn't find it in himself to scream any longer.

Footsteps rang out from behind the door, making his ears twitch. A knock. "Ranboo?" A  ~~ sickly ~~ sweet,  ~~ falsely ~~ concerned voice asked. "Are you in there? I haven't seen you all day, are you still asleep?"

Ranboo summoned the strength to speak up. "He...llo..?" He croaked out.

"Oh, you  _ are _ awake! Did you forget your key in your enderchest again? Honestly, your memory gets worse each day." The voice responded.

"Help me… please…" 

The voice paused for a minute. "Did you hurt yourself again?" He didn't respond. They spoke up again. "Alright, I'm coming in."

He heard a lever being placed, then the door clicked open. He heard a small gasp, though he could barely keep his eyes open enough to see the person who had entered. His vision blurred, but he could see… green? And white?

"Oh, Ranboo. Here." The figure crouched down in front of him, pulling something out of their inventory. They opened it and held it out in front of him. "Open your mouth and drink this, alright?"

He complied. The potion burned as it went down his throat, but he had gotten used to that long ago.

~~_ (Back before Hypixel, when it was just him, and Niki, and Eret. They didn't get potions often, but when they did they never wasted them. That would be foolish, and the kids hadn't been stupid. They knew how to survive.) _ ~~

It was sweet and salty, leading him to the conclusion that he must have been given a regeneration potion. His vision cleared a bit, and he felt the wounds on his arms begin to close. His throat was still sore from the screaming, but he managed to mumble out a, "thank you," to the masked man in front of him. 

Masked man…

Something about that frightened him. He tried to back closer to the wall.

"You're, you're bad, you're bad, go away, go away go away away-" His voice cut out, not able to finish the sentence.

The man in front of him cocked his head. "Really, I give you a regen pot and you call me 'bad'?" He laughed a little. "C'mon, it's me! Dream? We're practically best friends."

That didn't sit right with the enderman. No, he  _ knew _ that wasn't right.

"No, no that's-"

"Really, what did they tell you?" Dream asked.

"They?"

"You know, Techno, Tommy, Tubbo… they had you in their clutches for quite a while." The honeyed tones of Dream's voice should've calmed Ranboo, but they only served to make him more uneasy. "They treated you like a pet, you know? Their own part enderman, part dreamon hybrid. I only just got you back, and it's a good thing I did!"

He coughed. "Why am I in a box?" 

"It's so you don't accidentally wander out while you're asleep. I don't like the iron door either, but we have to have some way to make sure you're safe.” He sighed. “Oh, this is why I wanted to give you your memory book before you went to sleep, so you wouldn't forget all of this."

Ranboo bolted up. "My memory book? You have it?" He asked.

"Well at least you remember that. I don't have the original, Tommy burned it. But I made one that should have everything you need to know in it." 

Ranboo… did remember that, actually. A tall blond forcefully taking his book, burning it in front of him.

~~_ (It hadn't been Tommy, but he didn't remember that part.) _ ~~

Dream handed him the new book, and he opened it, carefully reading each page.

_ :) _

_ Friends: _

_ Dream _

_ DreamXD _

_ Enemies: _

_ Everyone else (turned against us) _

_ Tommy _

_ Tubbo _

_ Technoblade _

_ Philza _

_ Eret _

_ Nihachu _

_ Sapnap _

_ Dream found you as a child. Realized you were part dreamon like him. Protected you. Protect Dream like he protected you. _

_ The others will try to lie to you. Do not listen to them. _

_ Your obsidian room helps prevent you from accidentally sleepwalking and hurting yourself.  _

He flipped through the rest of the book. There wasn't much important information there, but… a lot of smiley faces. Like the one on Dream's mask.

It unsettled him.

But he tried not to show it. Dream had helped him, after all. Though there were a few things that he wasn't sure about, still.

He gathered the courage to ask. "Uh, Dream?"

"Yes?"

"What's…" He gulped. "What's a 'dreamon'?"

Dream sighed. Ranboo tensed up, but the masked man spoke before he could say anything.

"Oh, you really have forgotten a lot, haven't you? Your memory issues must be getting worse. A dreamon is," he let out a giggle, "well, us! They're very powerful creatures, so there's a lot of stigma against them. Fear of the unknown, y'know? We're both part dreamon, so the others on the SMP didn't exactly treat us well. Tommy, Tubbo, Techno, Eret, Niki… Sapnap and George…" His voice got sadder on the last two, and Ranboo sensed some history there.

"And… who's DreamXD?"

"Oh, he's a good friend of ours. You'll meet him soon." Dream offered a hand, which Ranboo took. "Now come on, we should get you some food, hmm?"

Ranboo nodded. Food sounded nice.

~~_ (He still didn't trust Dream. He couldn't trust him, not after everything he'd done. But Ranboo didn't remember what he'd done, and all he was left with was a sick feeling in his stomach. _ ~~

~~_ He chalked it up to hunger.) _ ~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how we feelin today? :)


	4. I've got problems (not just the ones that are little)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That was the first rule. Don't talk about Cogchamp, especially to people on the Dream SMP.
> 
> \---
> 
> Fundy worries about his friends. Moreso, he worries about losing them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops short chapter haha sorry  
> The 5undy is mostly just implied, I'm not gonna get into it really but it is there, feel free to ignore it. Also c!Fundy deserves the world.  
> Anyways, enjoy this Fundy angst I have provided!  
> Chapter title from "Problems" by Mother Mother.

Fundy wiped his brow. He and 5up had been working on their machines in Cogchamp for a few hours. 

He'd been trying to upgrade the bread factory. There wasn't too much he could do at the moment, but he wanted to get Ranboo's opinion before they started another project.

It'd been a few days since he'd seen him. He hoped Ranboo hadn't been avoiding him. 

He'd apologized after Doomsday. He'd even left the Dream SMP for a while, on Eret's suggestion, though Eret didn't actually know about Cogchamp.

That was the first rule. Don't talk about Cogchamp,  _ especially _ to people on the Dream SMP. This rule had been broken a few times, like when they had invited Sam and Crumb, or when Tubbo had told Tommy--though Tommy was most certainly  _ not  _ whitelisted on the server, since even Tommy and Tubbo had agreed that he would cause too much chaos, and he didn't have much interest in redstone anyways.

The second rule was that what happened on the Dream SMP stayed on the Dream SMP. Understandably, that wasn't always possible, but when Fundy and Ranboo had ended up in an argument after Doomsday, they had still tried to work together. He was pretty sure the other members of the SMP had sensed something was up, because Crumb and Sam had organised a competition for the two teams.

Fundy and Ranboo had won.

Ranboo was still mad at him, though.

It didn't feel much like winning.

"Hey, Five?" He called. The plant hybrid peeked his head out from behind the side of the factory.

"Yeah, Fundy?"

"Can we do something else? I don't… I dunno, just hang out or something? I don't really want to work on this anymore."

He was sure 5up knew better than to ask why. Indeed, the assassin stayed silent, only walking over and giving his arm a light squeeze, trying to reassure him.

"Of course. You wanna go use one of the drills? We can split the resources."

Fundy smiled. "Well, you know I'd never resist a chance to show you how much better our drill is than yours."

They headed to a good area for drilling, having grabbed the one Fundy and Ranboo had made. It wasn't like either team particularly needed the resources, but it was always nice to have excess. 

5up spoke up. "So, uh. You doing okay?"

Fundy sighed. "I… shit's been going down on the Dream SMP, y'know?"

Five winced. "Yeah, Tubbo said, but he didn't tell me what..." He trailed off. "You feeling up to talk about it? We've got time."

"I. I just." Fundy held back a sob. "Everything with my dad's been so difficult, and now L'manberg is gone, and it's partially my fault--well not really, bit I did sabotage the supplies--and Ranboo's mad at me, and Niki's been acting weird, and Tommy and Tubbo almost died, and there's a weird egg?"

Five blinked. "An. Egg?"

"Yeah, no clue what that's about. Pretty sure it's possessing people. Oh, and my grandpa hates me too! Can't forget that!"

Five reached over and gave him a hug. Fundy leaned into it. It was warm, like when Eret or Niki hugged him.

~~_ (Or Ranboo, back when he had been deserving of the enderman's hugs. At least, back when Ranboo still thought he was deserving of them. Fundy had known even then he didn't deserve their kindness, but he was selfish, so he took it anyway.) _ ~~

He tried to remember if it had ever felt like this when his family had hugged him. Then he tried to remember if they had ever hugged him.

_ Once, after a successful battle during the first war, there had been a group hug that he has weaseled his way into. He remembered his mom hugging him, faintly, though he pushed the memory away. Wilbur had picked him up a few times as a child--did that count? _

...He pushed himself further into Five's arms. The plant hybrid placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

_ Selfish _ , he thought.

_ One of these days you'll drive him away too. _


	5. Oh, why you gotta be so talkative?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Big men don't cry, his brain reminded him.
> 
> Shut up, you, he shot back.
> 
> \---
> 
> Tommy is... NOT doing alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, uh. I couldn't help myself with the angst. Have a Tommyinnit chapter.
> 
> CW: Mentions of Abuse, Mentions of Manipulation, Self-Deprecating and Suicidal Thoughts, "Men Don't Cry" mentality.
> 
> Idk if that last one should be mentioned here but it feels like it should, so. Stay safe, folks.  
> Chapter title from "Talk Too Much" by Coin.

Well. Tommy was  _ not _ doing alright.

That was honestly an understatement.

He was sitting in the corner of Puffy's house. He didn't exactly know how long ago he had gotten there--time wasn't real, it could have been five minutes or an hour--but he remembered Tubbo explaining everything to Puffy, and he remembered her offering them a room in her house if they needed it, and telling them she would protect them while Sam and the others figured this out, alright?

In his mind, he thought about Wilbur shouting about traitors in Pogtopia, Big Q warning him and Tubbo to trust no one. He thought about  his dad's Philza and  his older brother's Techno's betrayal.

He thought about exile.

And she expected him to believe her when she said she would protect him? From her own son?

He held back a dark chuckle at that last part, not wanting to alert Tubbo, who had basically made a point to make as much physical contact with Tommy as possible. It was a nice reminder that he was there, actually, physically there, that he wasn't hallucinating.

Family meant nothing on this server. Puffy and Dream (and Foolish? He was decently certain he'd heard her mention another son) would betray each other dozens of times, just like how his family had. Just like how everyone betrayed him.

He could only trust Tubbo. Even then, he only trusted Tubbo because if he couldn't trust his own best friend, who could he trust? 

With a jolt, he wondered if this was how Wilbur had felt.

He squeezed Tubbo's hand. Tubbo squeezed back, adjusting his position to snuggle into Tommy more.

_ Clingy _ , he thought, ignoring the fact that he had been the one to grab Tubbo in the first place. Well, the shorter boy had been the one who decided to hug him like a teddy bear, so he was the clingy one. Tommy could totally justify that. It was definitely not like he had walked to Snowchester some nights just to find Tubbo when he couldn't sleep, no sir.

_ (But if he had, Tubbo was always there. If he wasn't awake he'd be fine with Tommy waking him up, or even just laying down in his bed beside him, only to realise he had a guest in the morning. _

_ Neither of them slept much these days, though.) _

He wondered if there was anyone else he could really consider trustworthy. Big Q, maybe? He had been sketchy in the past, though. Sam was nice, but he had been with the Badlands before the whole "Egg" thing, and he was  _ supposed _ to be the one keeping Dream locked up, he thought bitterly.

Ranboo?

He didn't pick sides in conflict. Immune to betraying people, Tommy supposed. And if he was forced too, well, he had sort of betrayed Tommy for Tubbo and Tubbo for Tommy. Plus he was decently certain he wasn't stupid enough to believe a damn word the green bastard said.

Ranboo, then. Ranboo was trustworthy, other than the memory issues. Probably.

He hoped so. He didn't know if he or Tubbo could handle another betrayal, if he was being honest.

He wanted to cry, but big men didn't cry, he knew that. And he was a big man, the biggest, in fact.

Also, it would bother Tubbo, and he had bothered Tubbo enough. He had ruined things for Tubbo so many times. He was too loud, too much, he ruined things for everyone. He was selfish, and he took up space, and he couldn't be responsible  ~~ and he just wanted his family to love him again, but it was no wonder they  _ didn't _ ~~ .

_ (These thoughts came in Dream's voice, but unlike most of the time, he didn't push them away. He agreed, after all.) _

Maybe he should have just killed Dream when he had the chance. Getting Wilbur back didn't matter  ~~ no matter how much he missed his older brother ~~ , especially if it meant leaving that fucking  _ maniac _ alive. The fucker who wanted his best friend  _ dead _ .

This was his fault for leaving him alive.

Wilbur was happier dead anyways, he had said that. He didn't want to come back. So this was all Tommy's fault.

Everything on this server was his fault.

_ Maybe it would be better if- _ -

He cut off that train of thought, shaking his head. He would  _ not  _ go down that route again. He couldn't just leave Tubbo alone. And he had a hotel to run, for fuck's sake!

_ (The voice that sounded suspiciously like Dream rang out through his head again, mockingly. "Really? The only things keeping you going are Tubbo and a hotel? That's pathetic, Tommy." _

_ He tried to ignore it.) _

Tubbo tapped his hand absentmindedly. "Tommy? Are you okay?"

He sighed. "Just… thinking."

"About?"

He stated silent. Tubbo seemed to understand. 

"You don't have to worry about him, Tommy, no one's going to let him get near you--"

"But what about you?!" He shouted. "What if he gets to you?!"

Tubbo paused. "Well, you'll still be alive."

"But I wouldn't be." He whispered. "Not really. And not for long, either way."

Tubbo froze for a millisecond, then moved to look Tommy in the eyes.

"Tommy."

He looked away.

" _ Tommy. _ "

Tubbo cupped the sides of his face and gently turned his head back to face towards him. Their eyes locked.

"Tommy, if anything happens to me, you--" His voice broke. "--You are  _ not _ to do what I think you were implying. Okay? You've got to keep on living and--and I'll be gone, but it'll be okay, you--you have to--" 

The boy broke into tears, pulling Tommy back into a proper hug and burying his head in the taller's chest. Tommy wrapped his arms around him tightly, watching water drop onto Tubbo's hair. Did Puffy's house have a leak or something?--

Oh. He was crying too. Of course.

_ Big men don't cry, _ his brain reminded him.

_ Shut up, you, _ he shot back.

So the boys sat there and cried together, each with their arms around the other, scared to let go for even an instant.

_ (When Puffy came by later with lemonade, she noticed they had fallen asleep like that. She smiled and wrapped a blanket around them. _

_ They deserved better, and she would make sure they got it.) _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I believe in clingy duo supremacy  
> They're best friends, your honor  
> Also Puffy would throw hands for these boys and that is a FACT.


	6. It's the Angel of Death, and he says, "What's up?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Here to apologize to your kids? Because I don't think they want to see you right now." They continued.
> 
> Techno could see Phil trying to contain his anger, and stepped in. "We're just here for information."
> 
> \---
> 
> Phil and Techno go to the rest of the server for answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all have no idea how badly I wanted to name this chapter after "Dadbattle" from Friday Night Funkin'.
> 
> That being said, chapter title from "I've Got Some Falling to Do" by Lemon Demon.

The man before them didn't seem to react to Techno much, greeting him with a nod and a "Techno," before turning to Phil and practically hissing. 

"And. Philza." He growled out. Techno was confused on why exactly there would be animosity towards Phil and not him. The man must be a former L'manberg citizen, right?

"Sam." Phil greeted coldly.

Ah. That explained it--Techno remembered Phil's last excursion to area around the crater had ended with Phil returning and rambling to Techno about someone named 'Sam Nook' had yelled at him for being a bad parent to Tommy and Tubbo.

Techno… could understand the reasoning, though he'd never say that to Phil's face.

"Here to apologize to your kids? Because I don't think they want to see you right now." They continued.

Techno could see Phil trying to contain his anger, and stepped in. "We're just here for information. Have you seen anything unusual around here lately?"

Sam narrowed his eyes. "Maybe, why?" They asked.

"Someone… we know has had some. Trouble recently. Something's happened to them, we wanted to know if anyone knew anything."

The creeper hybrid paled. "Something's happened to Ranboo?"

Phil reached for his sword. "How do you know we were talking about Ranboo?"

"Because you pay more attention to him than you ever paid to your kids."

_ Ooh, burn!!! Battle of the dads. Dadbattle FNF? Awesamdad versus Dadza POGGGGGG!!!!!  _ **_Guys, we're here for Ranboo, shut up._ **

Techno sighed. "There's no point fighting over this now. Has anything happened or not?"

Sam hesitated. "You two… are aware of what happened with Dream, correct?"

Phil nodded. "Ranboo said he was imprisoned."

"He's escaped. Tommy and Tubbo aren't exactly taking it well." He stated bluntly.

"...What." Techno said flatly.

_ OH PRIME OH FUCK OH NO. he better not have hurt the childrennn!!!!!! E. Techno save your brothers!!!!! _

He resisted the urge to correct Chat on the last part. Tommy and Tubbo clearly didn't consider him their brother  ~~ anymore ~~ . And he certainly hadn't considered them that way at any point  ~~ or so he had told himself ~~ .

"I thought your prison was supposed to be inescapable." Phil growled.

"Yeah, so did I, but clearly I was wrong!" The hybrid threw his hands up in the air, exasperated. Techno could hear light hissing coming from their body, and he moved to defend Phil in case an explosion happened.

"Listen. If something's happened to Ranboo recently, then it probably has something to do with Dream escaping." They said. "So what happened?"

"...Ranboo is missing. From what you've said, it sounds like Dream took him." Techno responded after a moment.

"Fuck."

"Yep."

"That's…" Sam rubbed his forehead. "Okay, so not only do we have no leads on where Dream is, but Ranboo is with him, we don't know if he's hurt or not, Tommy and Tubbo are barely keeping it together--oh crap, they're not going to react well to Ranboo being gone--" They blinked, horror visible on his face.

"...Sam?" Phil asked.

"If. If Dream has Ranboo. And… someone had to have helped Dream escape. Someone… who could teleport. Then that means…" He hesitated. "Ranboo might have--"

"Absolutely not." Phil snarled. "Never fucking accuse him of something like that again."

Sam put their hands up to defend himself. "I'm not saying he did! I hope to Prime he didn't! But there aren't a lot of other options. Not to mention, either way, if Dream gets access to Ranboo's com, then he'd be able to give himself admin back."

"So what you're saying is that we are collectively screwed." Techno stated.

"... Probably. I… we need to call some kind of meeting." Sam replied.

"Start getting everyone together. We'll meet you at the ruins of the Community House as long as you promise we won't be attacked." Phil said. Sam nodded.

Time to get to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fuck c!phil. all my homies hate c!phil. but he is tryin in this fic because ranboo.  
> anyways haha awesamdad supremacy go brrrrrr  
> he is going to have so much angst after what happened yesterday i cannot wait.  
> speaking of yesterday, posted a sad clingyduo fic about it! it's not part of this series but y'all should go read it anyways! :D


	7. 'Cause I'm twisted up, I'm twisted up inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No, of course it was true, his friend wouldn't lie to him, :):):):):)--
> 
> \---
> 
> Ranboo... remembers?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Gaslighting, Manipulation, Memory/Mind Manipulation, Memory Loss, Mentions of Violence.
> 
> This is my longest chapter so far and its just. Ranboo. Angst. Why am I like this.
> 
> Chapter title from "Semi-Automatic" by Twenty Øne Pilots.

Ranboo followed **_his friend_** Dream as he lead him through blackstone corridors. He had to duck his head a couple times to get through some of the doorways. Dream had apologized, telling him that since the base was hidden they didn't have a lot of space, but considering the size of it he wasn't entirely sure that was true.

**_No, of course it was true, his friend wouldn't lie to him, :):):):):)--_ **

_ Where did that come from?  _ He shook his head. Dream turned to look at him.

"You alright, Ranboo?" The shorter man asked.

He laughed nervously. "Yeah, just, uh. Yeah, no, I'm fine." He responded. Dream cocked his head a little and  _ oh Prime he didn't believe him what was he going to do _ -

"Okay. Let me know if you need anything, alright?" Dream's voice was cool, and Ranboo was decently certain he knew he was lying, but he chose not to comment on it.

"Yeah, of course."

~~ He did  _ not _ trust this. ~~

He followed Dream into another room, only to stop. Finally,  _ finally _ , it wasn't another corridor (how many corridors did one person need?).

The room wasn't exactly cozy or well-decorated. It was still blackstone and obsidian, but there was a lime-green couch and armchairs around a coffee table which he assumed was supposed to be some kind of typical, living room sitting area. On the other side of the room was a small kitchen with a handful of chests and a dining table. 

Dream gestured to the table. "You can sit there, I'll get you some food and some bandages for your arms. Don't want your wounds reopening, hmm?"

Ranboo nodded, quick and over-enthusiastic, before briskly walking over to the table. He sat down, wincing as he lay his arms on the table. Dream grabbed something out of one of the chests, and returned, roughly grabbing one of Ranboo's arms. He winced, and Dream loosened his grip, before proceeding to wrap the arm, and then doing the same with the other. He handed Ranboo a stack of--were those GOD apples? 

"What."

"Don't worry, I have more."

"WHAT."

"Go on, eat up."

Ranboo hesitated. "Are you sure I can--"

"Just eat the apple, Ranboo." Dream said harshly, was he annoyed?  _ Great going, Ranboo, you've annoyed your only friend, what are you supposed to do now? _

He quickly took a bite, wincing a bit at the texture of the gold on the outside. "Sorry, sorry, thank you."

Dream rested a hand in his hair, and Ranboo noted that even sitting down, the man still had to raise his arm quite a bit to reach. "There's no need to apologize, Ranboo," he said sweetly, "I just want to make sure you're all healed up."

"Right, yeah, of course. Uh. Where did you get all of these, anyways?"

Dream sighed. "Well, it was my server--well, XD's, but they don't know about him--so it was pretty easy to get these. XD can just use admin commands to get us anything we need."

Ranboo gulped nervously. "Then, uh, how did they capture me? Shouldn't you and XD have been able to stop them."

~~_ Something wasn't adding up. _ ~~

"Oh, Ranboo." Dream ran his fingers through his hair. "We tried, but I can only fight off so many people at once, and it's important that they don't find out about DreamXD, y'know? He's our secret weapon, in a way."

"When do I get to meet him?"

"You'll meet him soon. Finish your gapple, Ranboo." He said harshly, removing his hand from his hair and putting an end to that conversation.

Ranboo nodded, trying to take bites of the apple as quickly as possible without choking. He definitely didn't want to piss off the one person he knew, after all.

Dream's tone had switched so quickly, which only unnerved him further. But it wasn't like he could leave--Dream had made it clear that he couldn't trust the others on the server, and it wasn't like he knew where the location of the exit to this place or even where  _ anything _ on this server was in the first place. 

He still couldn't shake the feeling that he couldn't trust Dream, though. **_It must be a result of the brainwashing the other members of the server had done._** Wait, but how would that be influencing him if he didn't even remember?

**_But you do remember._ **

He jolted. Wait, those weren't his thoughts.

**_True. Relax, I'm here to help. Don't you want to know what you're forgetting?_ **

_...Yes. _ He admitted to the voice.

Almost as soon as he thought that, memories began flashing through his head.

_ (They weren't all good. Many were terrible  _ ~~_ and the ones that weren't he forgot anyways. _ ~~

_ He remembered being called a traitor, people glaring at him, pain  _ ~~_ and understanding _ ~~ _ in a young boy's eyes as he stared towards him. _

_ He remembered fighting, alone, against everything and everyone he saw. That was the point of the game, after all, and he didn't want to enjoy it but the chaos thrilled him  _ ~~_ his siblings would be so disappointed. _ ~~

_ He remembered starving on the streets, begging stealing, barely scrapping by  _ ~~_ but he still had Niki and Eret. _ ~~

_ He remembered sneaking into a comedy show, watching the man on the stage tell his jokes, talking about the best meal he had ever had and an unfortunate trip to the doctor's, before getting caught by a security guard and getting thrust out.  _ ~~_ He didn't remember running home, Niki and Eret giving him food and letting him tell them about his day. _ ~~

~~_ He didn't remember Tommy. He didn't remember Tubbo. A few times he latched onto a menory for a few seconds, only to forget. _ ~~

~~_ He still knew he was missing something. _ _ ) _ ~~

"Wha… what was…" His head was spinning. "What was all that?"

Dream glanced back towards him from his sword--he had been sharpening it, but Ranboo didn't remember when he had actually started--and spoke. "You good?"

"Mhm." He lied.

"Tell the truth, Ranboo." Dream ordered.

Ranboo looked away guiltily. "I… there were thoughts in my head, they weren't mine, but I… I think I remember more now?"

"Ah, DreamXD did his job, then. He can't help you remember everything, of course, but that should help a little bit."

"I didn't… see you in any of the memories?" Ranboo asked questioningly. "Why weren't you there?"

Dream froze for a millisecond, then shrugged. "Unlucky batch of memories, I suppose. Maybe you'll get more back, eventually." He sighed, putting his sword down on the table with a clatter that made Ranboo flinch.

"You, uh, seem upset."

"I'm not made at you, Ranboo." Dream reassured. The sweet tone in his voice  ~~ that Ranboo distrusted ~~ was back. "But it is awful. After everything they've done to you… you're practically a little brother to me, you know? My own right hand man," he chuckled a bit at that, and Ranboo sensed an inside joke that he didn't remember was there, "doesn't even remember me. But don't worry."

Dream lifted his mask a bit, revealing a menacing grin.

"We'll find a way to get back at them."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay but two things A: Lore today????? I'm terrified. B: TFTSMP today??????? I'm also terrified. Also stan Karl Jacobs.


	8. I'm a big boy now and I'm very scary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno wasn't a threat right now, Dream was. And Dream could hurt Tommy again. He had to stay strong for Tommy.
> 
> \---
> 
> Tubbo tries to ignore his own problems in order to keep Tommy safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops not really satisfied with the ending, sorry I finished this last night with like five minutes before I had to go to bed.
> 
> CW: Past Abuse, Referenced Alcoholism, Mentions of Character Death.
> 
> Stay safe out there, folks.
> 
> Chapter title from "Boys Will Be Bugs" by Cavetown.

Tubbo squeezed Tommy's hand, feeling the taller boy lean into his side. He stepped a little closer, not wanting to crowd Tommy, but wanting him to know he was there if needed.

Tommy seemed to appreciate it, and Tubbo smiled softly, but his body was still tense. When Sam had called the meeting, he had made sure people knew that fighting of any sort was not allowed, as they had more important things to worry about. It had seemed odd to Tubbo, but he had agreed nonetheless. But now he understood why.

Because Technoblade was there.

Tubbo couldn't relax with him in the room. He could barely focus--honestly, he was sure Quackity felt the same. They had both been killed by the man, brought down to one life, Quackity by his pickaxe and Tubbo by a  _ fucking _ firework.

Well, it had taken two to finish the job, if he thought about it. But he tried not to, because that memory was nothing but  ~~_ pain, pain, pain, pain _ \-- ~~

No, he had to stay focused. Techno wasn't a threat right now, Dream was. And Dream could hurt Tommy again. He had to stay strong for Tommy.

Tubbo wasn't going to let that happen, though. Even if it meant killing the man with his bare hands.

_ (Even if it meant sacrificing himself in Tommy's place.) _

He snapped out of it as Quackity spoke up. 

"Why, exactly, are Technoblade and Philza here?" The duck hybrid asked.

Sam sighed. "They… have some information that we think may be related to Dream's escape."

The room did not take that well. There was shouting from many members of the gathering, before Phil yelled, "SHUT UP!" And the room quieted down. 

~~_ ("SHUT UP!" Schlatt shouted, smashing another bottle on the ground. "Prime, what's a man gotta do to get some FUCKING PEACE AND QUIET AROUND HERE?!" _ ~~

~~_ The cabinet members stayed quiet, before Tubbo said, "President Schlatt, I think maybe you should go to bed, you've had a busy day and--" _ ~~

~~_ "I told you to stay fucking quiet!" _ ~~

~~_ The broken bottle came down on his head.) _ ~~

Tubbo froze as Phil continued. "Thank you." He whispered something to Techno, and he shifted uncomfortably before speaking up.

"Ranboo's missing. Phil and I came back from an expedition, don't ask questions, and he was gone. There was blood. Came to this place to get answers, found out that the homeless teletubby has broken out of jail, doesn't seem like a coincidence to me." He shrugged. "That's the story."

"And how do we know you're telling the truth?" Fundy asked.

"I don't care if you think we're telling the truth. I could care less about Dream. But if he's hurt Ranboo then there will be hell to pay." Techno growled.

"'Don't care about Dream,' my ass. Don't you still owe him a favor?" Tommy muttered.

Techno glanced at him. "Could you repeat that?" He asked dryly.

Tommy stiffened, clearly not ready for attention. Tubbo wasn't particularly either, but he stepped in as he saw Tommy shrink back.

"He said something about you owing Dream a favor. If that's the case, how do we know you aren't the one who broke Dream out?" Tubbo said.

Techno sighed. "Clearly, none of you understand how favors work. Dream saved my first life, y'know, that time you tried to execute me, despite the fact that I had retired and wasn’t a threat anymore?" The former members of the Butcher Army all looked a little uncomfortable at that. Techno continued, "But saving someone's first life isn't equivalent to saving their third life. You lot locking Dream up in the prison for the rest of his life was great for me, 'cause I had no actual obligation to get him out of there, and I could just procrastinate on paying back what I owed for the rest of my life. Understood?"

After a moment of silence, Puffy cleared her throat. "He, uh, actually made a pretty good defense there, guys."

Quackity opened his mouth to say something, but Sapnap put a hand on his shoulder and the shorter man stood down. The blaze hybrid then added, "It's probably better to have Techno on our side than not, right? He's probably the one person here who could actually take Dream in a one-v-one."

Phil gasped. "What am I, chopped liver? You're not just getting Techno, y'know." He joked, lightening the atmosphere in the room. 

Tubbo was still tense though. He could tell Tommy was too.

Technoblade and Philza were working with them. They were going to have to fight alongside them.  _ Oh Prime, what if he uses fireworks, just like the festival again, what if he tries to hurt  _ ~~_ me _ ~~ _ Tommy or Ranboo-- _

Subtly, making sure no one noticed--especially Tommy--he sent a whisper to Sam asking him to keep Phil and Techno away from them as much as possible.

For Tommy's sake.

Yeah.

~~_ ("Do you know what happens to traitors, Tubbo?" Schlatt snarled. _ ~~

~~_ "What?" _ ~~

~~_ " _ **_Nothing good._ ** _ ") _ ~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cough* if anyone wants me to tell them my headcanons about piglins i will gladly rant in the comments *cough*


	9. And I can tell just what you want, you don't want to be alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of course, there was technically no way Techno would have been able to get access to the prison and break Dream out, if he thought about it.
> 
> \---
> 
> Quackity thinks of some solutions to his problems. They are not all good solutions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quackity chapter pogggggg
> 
> Chapter title from "What You Know" by Two Door Cinema Club.

Quackity was not  _ remotely _ comfortable with this situation.

He could tell, just by looking around the room, that other people weren't either. Tommy wasn't. Tubbo was trying to hide it, but he'd known the teen for far too long to not tell when he was afraid. He'd seen that look far too many times during Schlatt's time as president.

He understood. Techno was  _ fucking terrifying, _ after all. Tubbo had lost his second life to him. Quackity had lost both of his first two to him.

There was also the matter of Ranboo being missing. He hadn't known or liked the kid that much, he was a traitor and all--

~~_ ("NO TRAITORS IN MY FUCKING COUNTRY!" Schlatt shouted, gesturing to the boy they had trapped in concrete, Prime, Quackity had helped, why had he helped? Why didn't he try harder to stop him?) _ ~~

\--but he knew that he was friends with a good chunk of the server, including Tubbo. Hell, the kid had told him to his face that killing Ranboo would be treason, back when Tubbo was still president.

And maybe he wanted to apologize to the kid for everything that happened at the Festival, y'know?

~~_ (Which Festival? Red or Green? Tubbo or Ranboo? Did he even know what he was apologizing for?) _ ~~

He stepped a little closer to his fiancé, who leaned in, allowing him to hold him with one of his wings. They were a little small, yeah, but they were still a part of him, he wasn't just going to neglect that. Besides, the blaze hybrid was warm, okay?

~~_ (Karl should be there too, though. Where had he gone, and why didn't Quackity remember him leaving, or even being there in the first place.) _ ~~

But did no one understand why trusting Technoblade was a bad idea? Ignoring the fact that he didn't trust half the room in the first place, people on this server betrayed each other far to often for him to do that anymore, it was  _ Technoblade _ . The one person on the server who could've actually broken Dream out of jail in the first place!

Well, other than Sam, but if Sam had let him out it would be stupid to tell everyone. He really hoped the creeper hybrid was smarter than that, since all the times they'd boasted about his inescapable prison seemed to say something, and he'd seen the guardian farm that they and Tubbo had built. 

So, Sam was probably ruled out. Back to Techno.

Of course, there  _ was _ technically no way Techno would have been able to get access to the prison and break Dream out, if he thought about it. But there weren't exactly any other options, except Punz, who wouldn't have betrayed Dream in the first place if he was just going to break him out again. George and Sapnap might've, once, but he'd seen how they'd been affected by everything that Dream had done. Some of their other old friends could've but, no offense, he doubted most of them were smart enough to break into the blackstone and obsidian monstrosity that was Pandora's Vault, and Bad, Skeppy, and Antfrost were preoccupied with the Egg.

~~_ (A voice in the back of his head reminded him how easy it would be to turn them all against Techno. How easy it would be to get rid of another potential threat. _ ~~

~~_ The voice sounded awfully like Schlatt. _ ~~

~~_ He tried to ignore it. Even if he did want to get rid of the Blade, he was their best hope against Dream for now. _ ~~

~~_ He wished he had better reasons for it.) _ ~~

The room chattered nervously, the meeting long adjourned. He froze, a thought coming to his head. Sapnap leaned against him.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, just… had a thought." Quackity removed himself from  ~~ one of ~~ his fiancé's embrace, heading over to Sam. He tapped on the creeper hybrid's arm, and he turned to look at Quackity. Prime, the man was tall. They towered over the duck hybrid--no, he wasn't short, it was just that Sam was 7'4, okay?

"Is there something I can do for you, Quackity?" They asked.

"Yeah, actually. I had a question."

"Shoot."

He took in a breath.

"How exactly did Dream get out of the prison?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, next chapter was supposed to finally be Cogchamp again and then I wrote a cliffhanger on accident so. Chapter eleven I finally live up to that Crumb character tag ig.
> 
> Also I've made a couple very specific references/parallels throughout the course of this series and I'm annoyed no one's pointed them out yet lmaoo

**Author's Note:**

> To clarify, Ranboo is not Techno's son, I know they've heavily de-canonized that. Chat's just being annoying like always. Techno does care a lot about Ranboo though, and so does Phil. 
> 
> Also, inspiration for how chat works partially taken from Rewind (by Anonymous), since it deals with them very well.


End file.
